“View profiles without pronouns”: The politics and discourse of ‘anti-woke’ right-wing dating app, The Right Stuff

Abstract

This paper critically analyses the so-called “anti-woke” conservative dating app, The Right Stuff. Launched in September 2022, The Right Stuff was co-founded by former Trump aide and Project 2025 staffer, John McEntee, and financially supported by rightwing billionaire investor Peter Thiel. The app was created for conservatives to connect in “authentic and meaningful ways”, given that other dating apps have allegedly “gone woke”. The invitation only dating app is designed exclusively for heterosexual users, and boasts of only offering binary she/he pronouns. Indeed, The Right Stuff’s advertising campaign mocks the inclusive and diverse affordances of other dating apps, including Tinder and Bumble. However, the app has struggled to gain traction with conservative users with media reports noting a substantial drop-off in downloads since September 2022, despite being promoted by prominent right-wing influencers such as Kyle Rittenhouse. Moreover, the app has been criticised by users for a lack of women using the platform. Drawing on a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of The Right Stuff’s website, TikTok promotional materials, and YouTube channel, this paper explores how exclusion is built into the app’s promotion and claims about its digital architecture, and the associated implications for online dating in the future. This paper argues that The Right Stuff is a manifestation of the broader political polarisation of politics in the United States, and the intersection of politics and intimacy. Moreover, despite The Right Stuff’s apparent failure, it is clear that politically based dating apps will proliferate in the future. This paper aims to contribute to our growing understanding of the role of politics in digitally mediated dating.